LOS ANGELES — Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook was dealt just the right dose of indignation on Sunday morning when he arrived for the Rose Bowl's Media Day festivities at the LA Hotel Downtown.

The banner beside the table he was stationed at had his first name spelled incorrectly.

"Not much has changed, I'm still the same ol' Connor,'' Cook said at the start of his interview. "Misspelled my name right there, so really, nobody knows who I am.''

Of course, Cook is the first quarterback to lead the Spartans to the Rose Bowl since 1988, turning in a Big Ten championship game MVP performance in a stirring 34-24 upset over then-No. 2 and previously unbeaten Ohio State.

Next up for Cook and No. 4 Michigan State (12-1) is Pac-12 champ and defending Rose Bowl champion Stanford (11-2), which enters Wednesday's game as a 6-point favorite.

Cook maintains a self-deprecating charm in his public persona, likely to offset the supreme and infectious confidence he carries onto the football field.

Gerry Rardin -- coach at Walsh Jesuit High School in Hinckley, Ohio, the past 34 years -- said he spotted Cook's talents early.

"You could tell Connor was going to be a special quarterback,'' Rardin said. "He was a high-energy kid, a quick-to-smile kid, and he was driven. From the minute he stepped on the practice field, he was moving. He had energy to burn.

"I remember his sophomore year turning to an assistant and saying, `the kid just reminds me of a big pony that will never stop.' To see that quick release and see his arm strength get better and better, going into his senior year, you could tell he was still developing.''

Chris Cook, Connor's father and a former collegiate football player at Indiana, said he and his wife raised Connor and his sister, Jackie, to be athletes.

Connor Cook played receiver as a third grader in flag football, but from fourth grade on up, he was a quarterback.

"Really, when they're young, it's not like they were looking at his ability to throw the football,'' Chris Cook said. "A lot of it had to do with leadership and people following him, kids were attracted to him.''

While his sister grew into a Division I basketball recruit who played at traditional power Old Dominion and scored more than 1,000 points, Connor Connor was becoming a collegiate quarterback prospect at Walsh Jesuit.

There might have been more Division I offers had Cook played in an offense that showcased the passing game, but Walsh Jesuit had built a successful program as a run-first offense with premium offensive linemen.

"You look at Connor's statistics compared to his contemporaries that were throwing for 3,000 yards, or 40 or 50 touchdowns, and they didn't compare, he didn't have that, he wasn't in that kind of system,'' Chris Cook said. "I credit (Michigan State coach Pat) Narduzzi for being able to identify Connor as someone with great potential.''

Cook played baseball throughout eighth grade, and he competed at a high level in travel basketball to ninth grade before the focus was narrowed to football.

Looking back, Cook recognizes that playing quarterback in his youth shaped his personality as he grew into a young man.

"You realize you have to be a leader when you're a quarterback and make the guys feel at ease when times are rough, and off the field I'm the same way,'' Cook said. "I've always tried to be generous, and I think having to be that way with my teammates enhanced that in me as I got older.''

Rardin remembers how Cook went out of his way to secure a place in the record books for a teammate who didn't have the same sort of Division I college football future ahead of him as many other Walsh Jesuit football prospects.

"We were playing our tenth game of the year, we knew we'd win the game, but we weren't going to make the playoffs,'' Rardin said. "Connor really wanted this kid to get a record, and Connor did his best to get him the ball with his passes. Connor was so proud and so happy for that kid, and that always stuck with me, that he wanted to take care of a teammate like that.'''

Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook took note that he's not a household name quite yet, as his name was misspelled on a banner at the Rose Bowl Media Day on Sunday.Mike Griffith | MLive.com

Cook still takes care of his teammates, driving redshirting freshman quarterback Damion Terry home each time the Spartans go on break.

"Connor is such a great guy,'' Terry said, "I really look up to him, and I ride home with him, because I'm only an hour and 40 minutes away from where he lives.''

Rardin wasn't surprised to hear how quickly Cook has become one of the most popular players on the Spartans' roster.

"He was a competitor and our kids saw that, and they loved being around him because he was super fun to be around,'' Rardin said. "His personality really came out in our teams. Connor never got flustered. Everything didn't go perfectly all of the time, but it never fazed him. He was going to compete on the next play.''

Rardin said he believes Cook is going to be competing on the NFL level before his quarterback career is done.

"I've coached over 90 Division I players and six with good pro careers, and after watching Connor in the games I've seen on TV this season, it struck me that I think he's going to be playing on Sundays,'' Rardin said. "His release is getting quicker, and his arm is getting stronger.''

Chris Cook credits Michigan State's coaching staff for the continued development of his son after his high school career.

"(Michigan State co-offensive coordinator) Dave Warner worked with him first couple years, and now (Spartans quarterbacks coach) Brad Salem has become the most instrumental in his development,'' Chris Cook said. "He's come a long way, and he didn't do it alone. I think a lot of it comes back to Michigan State's whole concept of believing in each other and trusting each other. Without his offensive line, he's nothing. I mean, Connor is the least-sacked quarterback in the Big Ten, and then he has great receivers and J-Lang (Jeremy Langford) takes heat off the passing game with his ability to run the football.''

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio and Warner still believe Cook has the ability to run the ball better than he has shown to this point, and Chris Cook confirmed his son was indeed a flyer in high school.

"In high school he was a fast dude,'' Chris Cook said with a chuckle, asked what he thought of Dantonio's prediction that his son will one day rush for 100 yards in a college game. "He ran a 4.5 (-second 40-yard dash) at Cincinnati football camp his sophomore year, and then he ran 4.46 at Kentucky.''

Dantonio nods when asked about his desire for Cook to become more of a threat running the football off the scramble.

"He can run, he can do that,'' Dantonio said, not budging from his prediction that Cook will one day hit the century mark on the ground. "You just look across the aisle at Stanford, and how their quarterback will take off and make plays. Those things will begin to happen for Connor as he gets more experience.

"But he has a great arm, he can move in the pocket and create some situations,'' he said. "The reality is, we are just touching the tip of the iceberg, and he's still getting better from game to game.''

Chris Cook has watched his son's quarterback career unfold before his eyes, seeing improvement each season.

More than anything, Connor's father said, it comes down to his son's mindset.

"We talk a lot about positive visualization, and he's so focused, yet loose to a certain point,'' Chris Cook said. "He starts getting on a roll in the games, and the whole thing is confidence, and confidence breeds success.''